


Like Sister and Brother: A Book of Mormon AU Fanfiction

by Alicorn8210



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Falling In Love, Love, Mormonism, Rule 63, chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25231000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alicorn8210/pseuds/Alicorn8210
Summary: An alternate universe where Elder Kevin Price is now Sister Kendall Price. While on her mission, Kendall notices that she’s gaining some...strange feelings for Elder Arnold Cunningham, her mission companion. What will happen as the two of them attempt to baptize the people of a village in Uganda into the Mormon church while also trying to deal with their budding romance?
Relationships: Sister Kendall Price (Genderbent Elder Kevin Price)/Arnold Cunningham
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. I Am Here For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sister Kendall Price and Elder Arnold Cunningham arrive at the Mormon Mission Center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was listening to The Book of Mormon-specifically “I Am Here For You”-last night, and this idea popped into my head. So...here we are.
> 
> So basically, the first few chapters will have to do with events in the show, literally following the script, while the rest will deal with events after the show.
> 
> Enjoy! 😊

It was nighttime at the Mormon Mission Center. Sister Kendall Price and Elder Arnold Cunningham had been shown to their room by Elder McKinley.

“Ta-da!” Elder McKinley exclaimed happily.

“ALRIGHT! CHECK IT OUT!” Elder Cunningham yelled with extreme jubilation. “WE GET TO SLEEP RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER!”

“Alright, you two,” Elder McKinley began to explain. “Get settled in, and according to the missionary rules, lights out promptly at ten, and we all wake up at exactly 6:30,” He turned to look at Sister Price. “We’ve heard a lot of great things about you, Sister Price. Really hoping you can turn things around here,”

“Don’t worry-we will!” Arnold said to Elder McKinley.

“Elder…” McKinley looked at Arnold. “Sister…” He looked at Kendall. “We’re glad you’re here,” Then he left.

The minute he shut the door, Kendall’s internal frustrations felt that it was safe to emerge.

“ZERO baptisms?!” Kendall sat down on the bed. “This is going to be a WHOLE lot harder than we thought, huh?”

Arnold, as usual, didn’t quite grasp the seriosity of the situation. “Yeah! This is gonna be a lot like _Lord of the Rings_! You’re Frodo and I’m Samwise fighting against impossible odds!”

Kendall just giggled softly, both because of Arnold’s funny little quip (although she wasn’t sure how funny she actually found it) and because she was trying not to get too down.

“This just all isn’t what I was expecting. I’ve gotta admit-I’m beginning to start to feel...I don’t wanna say ‘ripped off’, but just...overwhelmed,”

Arnold sat down next to Kendall. “Well, I’ve got something to admit, too…” Kendall looked at him. “Remember when I told you that I sometimes make things up, and Bishop Donahue said it’s because I have no self-esteem and desperately want to fit in with my peers?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s not true. There is no Bishop Donahue. I made him up,”

Arnold still had that goofy smile on his face even as he admitted that. It drove Kendall crazy.

“Elder, I really think you should just think about the big day we have ahead tomorrow, OK?” Kendall said, not being able to get her mind off her work. “Remember why we’re here. Can you do that for me?”

Arnold’s smile became sweeter and more genuine. He gently grabbed Kendall’s arm. “I would do anything for you...I'm your best friend,”

Kendall was silent for a second. While she knew the only reason Arnold was saying that was because he didn’t have any other friends, and also because he had been paired with her, it still touched her somewhere in her heart. She just wasn’t sure where exactly.

“Alright, well...let's get to sleep, huh?” she finally decided, starting to settle into bed.

“Yeah!” Arnold responded as he also settled into bed. He yawned, then said, “I’m so tired,”

 _I can tell,_ Kendall thought sassily. She closed her eyes.

“ _Sleep now, little buddy_

_Put your cares away_

_Nappy with a happy face_

_Tomorrow’s a latter day!_ ”

Kendall opened her eyes and slowly turned to look at Arnold, confused by the strange, sudden song.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a flat and confused manner.

“That’s what my mom used to sing to me to make me feel better,” Arnold said softly.

“I feel FINE!” Kendall exclaimed, turning back around quickly. She then turned again to look at Arnold. “Elder, our focus needs to be on our WORK. Do you understand how difficult this is going to be? The missionaries here have yet to bring a SINGLE PERSON to the church,”

Arnold didn’t seem dazed by Kendall’s sudden outburst of frustration. Instead, he said, “Well, if they had already baptized a bunch of Africans here, then it wouldn't be so incredible when YOU did it, now would it?”

Kendall paused, considering this. “I guess,” she decided softly. She then turned back, her eyes darting to the side with introspection. “I guess that’s kinda true,”

“Don’t forget what you told me, Sister. You are AWESOME! Together we’re gonna bring lots of Africans to the church. And then my dad will finally feel proud of me...instead of just feeling stuck with me…”

Kendall felt something in her heart break when Arnold said that. She couldn’t even imagine having parents who weren’t proud of you, who didn’t support everything you did, who saw you more as a piece of luggage than a human being.

She turned back around slightly to look at Arnold. “You know what, Elder?” she asked kindly, implying she already knew the answer. “I think your dad’s got plenty to be proud of already,”

Arnold’s face lit up. “Really?!”

His happy face made Kendall’s heart beat wholly again. “Yeah,”

Happy again, Arnold continued his song.

“ _Evening star shines brightly_

_God makes life anew_

_Tomorrow is a latter day!_

_I am here for you…_ ”

Something deep in Kendall’s soul made her sing her own line to Arnold.

“ _I am here for you, too…_ ”

Then they sang to each other, their voices soft with sincerity.

“ _We are here for us…_ ”

As she sang that almost impulsively, Kendall couldn’t help but feel something...odd. It was a feeling she had never felt before. It was slowly consuming her mind and heart. It made her head feel light. It made her chest feel full of...something. Was it hope? Was it happiness? Was it pleasure? Was it infatuation? Whatever it was, it was new, and it would make it hard to sleep. But she didn’t know what to do about it, so she just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

“Goodnight, best friend,” Arnold whispered loudly.

Kendall turned to look at Arnold, then smiled, both because she wanted to make him happy, and because looking in his eyes lifted her up for some reason.

“Goodnight, pal,” she replied.

She wasn’t sure if “pal” was the right word to use there, but she used it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I don’t know anything about the Mormon church, so I have no idea if they actually allow women to take on the role of a missionary. If you happen to know, please tell me-I’m very interested. But for the sake of this story, this is an alternate universe where that is allowed.
> 
> Secondly, I think I was too caught up in following the script to add any of my own character development in there, but hopefully you got the gist and thought it was still cute!
> 
> Finally, if you’re here because of my Hamilton story, don’t worry. I will continue updating that. But what will happen is I will update that story, then update this, then that, repeat ad nauseum. So I will split my attention between the two stories. Hope that’s OK with all of you! 😊
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	2. Stuck with Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The elders learn that the Mission President wants a written progress report from them. Kendall tries to leave after finding out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I need to thank the guest who left kudos on this story. Thanks, fren! 😊
> 
> Second of all, it has been brought to my attention by user H3ckdreams that, in the Mormon faith, while women are able to become missionaries, they cannot be paired up with a male missionary, which...kinda ruins the whole idea of this story, so...yeah.
> 
> Still, thanks SO much for giving me this info! To be fair, I...guess I could’ve just Googled it, but...I dunno-for some reason, I’m always scared to Google these things. Maybe I’m just a coward. That’s definitely the case.
> 
> But since we are in an alternate universe here, we’re just gonna say that in this universe, male and female missionaries ARE allowed to be paired up with one another.
> 
> Because YEAH.
> 
> That’s how you deal with your problems.
> 
> You just change the rules of the universe so that the problem doesn’t exist anymore.
> 
> What a great life lesson. For kids!
> 
> Anyway, I’m just ranting at this point-enjoy! 😊

Most of the missionaries were standing in the main room of the Mormon Mission Center when Elder McKinley rushed in from the other room.

“O-M-GOSH!” he exclaimed, his voice cracking. “YOU GUYS, I’M  FREAKING OUT!”

“What is it?” Elder Neeley asked.

“I just got off the phone with the Zone Leader! The  Mission President wants a  written progress report from us THIS week!”

“A progress report?!” Elder Clark yelled in disbelief and panic. “But we don't have any baptisms!”

“I KNOW THAT!” Elder McKinley couldn’t control the volume of his voice amidst his panic. “WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!”

A distressed cacophony emerged as all of the elders started yelling over each other.

“We’re gonna get sent home!”

“This is terrible!”

“OH, GOSH! OH, NO!”

“My dad’s gonna beat me!”

After a good minute of nothing but panicked voices fighting each other for control, one voice, the voice of Elder Church, finally managed to overpower the others.

“OK, OK-HOLD ON!” he screamed. All of the others turned to look at him. “I mean...we could just...SAY we had some baptisms!”

“WHAT?!” Elder McKinley exclaimed, shocked at what Elder Church was proposing. “You mean LIE?!”

“Well…” Elder Church’s speech became a bit more awkward. “Just...sort of!”

“Are you an IDIOT?!” Elder Schraeder’s loud and sudden voice made Elder Church jump. “Mormons don’t LIE!”

“I told a lie once when I was twelve, and I had a dream that I went to hell!” Elder Neeley added. “It was really spooky,”

“You, too?!” Elder Thomas looked at Elder Neeley. “I had the hell dream after I accidentally read a _Playboy_!”

“Look, we’ve ALL had the spooky hell dream, people!” Elder McKinley tried to regain control of the room. “I have it NIGHTLY! The issue NOW is what the heck am I supposed to tell the Mission President?!”

Suddenly, the door burst open. In stumbled Sister Price, completely splattered with blood and with a certain look on her face that was hard to decipher, but was DEFINITELY not happy. Elder Cunningham followed behind her.

“Sister Price!” Elder Church exclaimed, worry thick and loud in his voice. “What HAPPENED to you?!”

“Africa is nothing like _Lion King_...I think that movie took a LOT of artistic license!” Sister Price sounded annoyed, angry, AND scared, emotions you wouldn’t think could coexist.

“She's upset because we just saw a guy get shot in the face,” Elder Cunningham, of course, chimed in with an inappropriately blunt statement of fact.

The Elders, as was to be expected, reacted negatively, with various versions of “Ooh…”, “Ew…”, and “That’s not good…” popping up around the room. The only one who didn’t was Elder McKinley, who instead said, “What?”

“I CANNOT continue my mission this way!” Sister Price exclaimed with pure anger. “There is absolutely NOTHING I can accomplish here!”

This didn’t please the frazzled Elder McKinley. He ran up to Kendall and said, “Sister Price, you CANNOT lose your cool on me now! We're about to get evaluated by the MISSION PRESIDENT!”

Suddenly, Kendall’s face lit up. She had an idea. “That’s it! The Mission President! I have to go see the Mission President and get transferred!” She started out the door.

But before she could leave, Arnold tugged on her arm. “Buddy! Buddy!” he begged. “I know things seem tough right now, but remember-tomorrow is a LATTER DAY!”

Arnold, having unintentionally touched a sensitive nerve, was met with, “‘Latter Day’ doesn’t mean tomorrow! It means  afterlife! The reckoning! The ‘Latter Days’ where all good people go to Heavenly Father and get everything they’ve always WANTED! I’m OUTTA here!” She tried to leave again, but this time Elder McKinley stopped her.

“Hey! HEY! Are you forgetting Rule Number 23?! You CANNOT leave the living quarters after 9 pm!”

Kendall didn’t care. “To HECK with rules!” All of the Elders gasped. “I'm not wasting the most important two years of my life!” And with that, she headed out the door.

“Hey! Hey! Hold up! You forgot me!” Arnold exclaimed, going to follow Kendall. However, he, too, was stopped by Elder McKinley.

“Elder Cunningham, do you ALSO want to break Rule Number 23?”

Oh, boy.  Now Arnold was stuck. “Oh, NO! What am I supposed to do?! According to Rule Number 23, I can’t leave the living quarters after curfew. But according to Rule Number 72, I can’t leave my companion alone! THIS IS LIKE A MATRIX LOGIC TRICK!” He ran through his mind, trying to find the best option. “Rule 23...Rule 72...Rule 23...I’M SORRY, GUYS! SHE’S MY BEST FRIEND!” He ran out the door.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had grown dark in the village. The moon shone peacefully in the dark blue sky, making the whole village and the whole world feel still. It was a stunning and strong contrast to the hectic nature of the village during the day.

After running through the quiet, empty darkness for a while, Arnold found Kendall.

“HEY, COME ON!” he shouted. She stopped walking and turned to face him. “We’re supposed to be together at all times, remember?!”

Kendall’s face became one of hopeless frustration. “I CAN’T do something incredible here!” she exclaimed.

Arnold was feeling a bit desperate now. “OK,  STOP! Breathe. Think. This isn't what you want to do,” He tried to keep his voice as level as possible, hoping to calm Kendall down and stop her from making any rash decisions.

It didn’t work. “YES, it IS,” Kendall spat back, a finality to her voice that Arnold didn’t like.

“OK...alright,” Arnold had to give up. “If you want to transfer...THEN  THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING! I'm WITH you!”

A look of annoyance appeared in Kendall’s eyes. “I didn't say  we’re transferring-I said  I am,”

Those words crushed Arnold. Sadness welled up in his eyes, and he slumped his shoulders, staring at the ground. “Oh…” he mumbled glumly. “I see…”

Kendall felt a thump of guilt beat through her heart, but she couldn’t let her guard down now. “Look...I'm sorry,” she half-lied, however much she wanted to believe that she had just said that to be polite. “But you and I just aren't that compatible, alright?”

“Well, we just became best friends a few days ago!”

Kendall snapped. “ **I'M** **NOT** **YOUR BEST FRIEND! I JUST GOT** **STUCK** **WITH YOU BY THE MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER!** ”

Oh, crap. It took her less than a second to realize what she had just said.

_And then my dad will finally feel proud of me...instead of just feeling stuck with me…_

_Stuck._

Out of all the words in the world, why did she have to choose  that one?

She immediately tried to remedy the situation. “I-I didn't mean to say ‘stuck’! It's just that-”

Arnold sniffed, attempting to prevent more tears from falling. “Yeah, yeah, no...it's OK. I...I know how it goes. It's really fine. I'll be totally fine…”

That look...that voice...WHY did he have to BREAK HER HEART whenever he was sad?!

Kendall had to admit to herself that while she had been walking through the village, she had felt a heavy weight attached to her heart, attempting to stop her from moving any further. Today hadn’t been a successful start to their mission in Uganda, and Arnold hadn’t really helped at all, but Kendall knew deep down that he was trying his best. And honestly, he was kind of adorable while doing so. But she knew that she was right. She knew that she couldn’t do anything incredible here. She had to go somewhere where she could. And that meant leaving Arnold behind, even if it violated the rules.

She attempted to pick her chin up and smile, even if tears were very close to welling up in her eyes. “Yes...you  will be fine. We just need...ya know...different things,”

“Right,” Arnold sighed, also trying to pull himself together, though he was doing worse at it than Kendall was. “Right...different things,”

“It was…” Kendall attempted to find the right words. “It was nice meeting you,”

Those weren’t the right words, and she knew it. But they would have to do.

“Yeah...you, too,” Arnold breathed, his voice uncharacteristically soft and gentle. “Take it easy,”

Kendall held up her hand as a wave-like gesture and began to walk away. Every step was excruciating, but she took them anyway.

Why was it so hard to leave this place? It was a horrible place to live. It was dirty, disease-infested, dangerous. The inhabitants were miserable. So why couldn’t she commit herself to the idea of leaving?

It was because of Arnold.

As much as she hated to admit it, Kendall knew she had feelings for Arnold, and he was what was making it so hard to leave the village. His overly enthusiastic nature and affinity for all things pop culture annoyed her, sure, but they also charmed her. She would be lying if she didn’t admit that seeing Arnold’s smile lifted her spirits and made her feel even more motivated to do something incredible. But there was a voice deep inside nagging her, telling her that she and Arnold could never be together, SHOULD never be together, WOULD never be together. It was a stupid idea, after all-Kendall would practically have to babysit Arnold and deal with his crazy antics.

But if there was one thing Kendall knew about herself, it was that she tended to take everything a bit too seriously. Maybe someone like Arnold could help loosen her up.

Suddenly, a voice rang out through the darkness behind her.

“ _Evening star shines brightly_

_God makes life anew_

_Tomorrow is a latter day_

_I was there for you…_ ”

Kendall felt like crying. She actually did start weeping when she thought about what Arnold had said before.

_I know how it goes._

Her heart sank into her chest as those words rang through her head. Arnold was clearly very lonely, but nothing she could possibly do would ever fill the void of what he should’ve been given all his life: love.

She could never give him enough love.

She could never love him.

Never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a mess, and honestly, I’m not even sure I like where this story is going. I’d REALLY appreciate feedback and ideas on what to do with this story. I’m honestly really stuck, but I don’t wanna scrap it because it seems like a sweet idea.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


End file.
